The holidays aren’t just for eight nights of presents or milk and cookies for Santa, it can also be a great time to start a side hustle. The holidays are an expensive time of year! Building a business around the holiday hubbub is a good way to make some extra cash.

Here are three businesses you can start this holiday season:

Cleaning Service

The holiday season can get pretty hectic. You normal life isn’t put on hold just because you have a party to go to every Saturday of the month. Soccer practice isn’t canceled because the kids are also in the school play. With all these extra activities going on, things can get a little messy. Between the parties, the practices, the rehearsals, the gift buying and wrapping, and everything in between, there isn’t much time left for cleaning. Start a cleaning service during the holiday season and you’re sure to keep busy. No one wants to clean up the morning after a great party… that’s what you’re for! Market your service as a way to keep things normal and in check during a busy season.

Party Planning

When I think about the holidays I think about all of the great parties. I love getting dressed up and sampling everyone’s versions of classic holiday meals and drinks. This is a great time of year to start a party planning business. You could even go so far as to market yourself specifically as a holiday party planning service. Let your customers know you’re both a corporate holiday party planner, as well as a personal party planner. Business owners hardly have the time to run their businesses and keep up with their personal lives let alone plan a party that all of their employees will enjoy. Just as everyone’s too busy tending to their normal day-to-day lives while keeping up with holiday festivities to plan a quality party for friends and family.   

Pet/House Sitting

Along with hosting and attending parties, the holidays are also great for going on vacation. That means a lot of empty houses and lonely pets! Pet owners like to avoid sending their pets to kennels if they can. Leaving animals with friends or family is usually ideal. People just generally feel more comfortable leaving their pets with someone they know and not a random service they read a couple positive Yelp reviews for. Start off by advertising yourself to friends and family, and by next season, you’ll get calls from friends of friends and so on. Research a proper rate for your area and charge accordingly. And, lastly, always leave the house in better condition than when you found it.

Deborah Sweeney is the CEO of MyCorporation.com. MyCorporation is a leader in online legal filing services for entrepreneurs and businesses, providing start-up bundles that include corporation and LLC formation, registered agent, DBA, and trademark & copyright filing services. MyCorporation does all the work, making the business formation and maintenance quick and painless, so business owners can focus on what they do best. Follow her on Google+ and on Twitter @mycorporation.